Four famous documents read closely: Douglass 1852, a fireside chat, the Declaration of Sentiments, a Birmingham letter summary
Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Douglass asks why he was invited
Who made it: Frederick Douglass, a speaker against slavery. When: July 5, 1852. Where: Corinthian Hall, Rochester, New York. For whom: 500 to 600 people at a celebration run by the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society. Why: to say what the Fourth of July meant to enslaved people. Excerpt (Oration at Rochester; pamphlet, 1852, p. 14): "pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied [written] in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?" Source card "The Rochester speech, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: Rochester, New York. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Sewing Society invited Frederick Douglass to speak. He agreed on one condition: that he speak on July 5, not July 4. About 500 to 600 people came to Corinthian Hall. Afterward the Society asked him for one hundred printed copies, and the speech came out as a pamphlet in 1852.
Jun reads Douglass's question about being called to speak on independence. What does it do in front of this audience?
- It asks the Society to cancel its celebration of the holiday before he speaks
- It shows that he opposes the independence of the United States from Britain
- It flatters the audience to win its sympathy, before turning to criticize the holiday
- It makes listeners ask whether the Declaration's principles reach enslaved people
Roosevelt on what a bank does with deposits
Who made it: Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States. When: March 12, 1933. Where: the White House, Washington, D.C.. For whom: radio listeners across the country. Why: to explain the bank holiday and ask people to trust the reopened banks. Excerpt (Radio address on the banking crisis; Public Papers, 1938, item 16, about p. 61): "First of all, let me state the simple fact that when you deposit money in a bank the bank does not put the money into a safe deposit vault. It invests your money in many different forms of credit — bonds, commercial paper [short loans to businesses], mortgages and many other kinds of loans. In other words, the bank puts your money to work to keep the wheels of industry and of agriculture turning around." Source card "Roosevelt opens the talk". Who made it: Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States. When: March 12, 1933. Where: the White House, Washington, D.C.. For whom: radio listeners across the country. Why: to explain the bank holiday and ask people to trust the reopened banks. Excerpt (Radio address on the banking crisis; Public Papers, 1938, item 16, about p. 61): "I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking — with the comparatively few who understand the mechanics of banking but more particularly with the overwhelming majority who use banks for the making of deposits and the drawing of checks." Context: The banks had been closed since March 6, 1933.
Pia notes the talk tells listeners their deposits are "put to work." Why might explaining that serve the talk's purpose better than only promising safety?
- It gives a reason to trust banks: deposits keep industry and farms running
- It blames depositors for the crisis, so they will accept the bank holiday
- It assures listeners that the government holds their deposits, so they need not worry about banks
- It shows that banks keep deposits in vaults, so no listener has anything to fear
The opening of the Declaration of Sentiments
Who made it: Elizabeth Cady Stanton with Mary Ann M'Clintock; signed by 100 women and men. When: July 1848. Where: Seneca Falls, New York. For whom: the convention and the public. Why: to list women's complaints and demand their rights. Excerpt (Declaration of Sentiments; History of Woman Suffrage, 1881, p. 70): "When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one portion of the family of man to assume among the people of the earth a position different from that which they have hitherto [until now] occupied … a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes that impel [drive] them to such a course."
Bo reads the 1848 opening beside the 1776 line saying a "decent respect to the opinions of mankind" requires declaring causes. What does it show about the purpose?
- They hope to dissolve the Union, as the writers of the 1776 Declaration had done
- They write for the delegates at the convention, so no outside reader is meant to see it
- They write for the public, justify their demands, and borrow the form of the 1776 text
- They ask the opinions of mankind for permission before they are allowed to speak
Douglass on the nation's inheritance
Who made it: Frederick Douglass, a speaker against slavery. When: July 5, 1852. Where: Corinthian Hall, Rochester, New York. For whom: 500 to 600 people at a celebration run by the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society. Why: to say what the Fourth of July meant to enslaved people. Excerpt (Oration at Rochester; pamphlet, 1852, p. 15): "The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed [handed down] by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. … This Fourth July is yours, not mine." Source card "The Declaration of Sentiments makes its demand". Who made it: Elizabeth Cady Stanton with Mary Ann M'Clintock; signed by 100 women and men. When: July 1848. Where: Seneca Falls, New York. For whom: the convention and the public. Why: to list women's complaints and demand their rights. Excerpt (Declaration of Sentiments; History of Woman Suffrage, 1881, p. 71): "Now, in view of this entire disfranchisement [being kept from voting] of one-half the people of this country, … we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of the United States." Context: History of Woman Suffrage, which prints this text, was compiled by Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Matilda Joslyn Gage and printed in 1881. Limits: The 1881 printing and the text on the National Park Service's site differ slightly in punctuation and a few words.
Zee sets Douglass on the inheritance beside the 1848 demand on the vote. Which pattern do the two passages share?
- Each is about slavery, since both passages name people who were held in bondage
- Each asks for honor in memory of the past rather than for any new right or change
- Each is written by people who already hold the power to change the law themselves
- Each names people shut out of rights that others enjoy, and calls for change
Letter from Birmingham Jail, in brief
Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: On April 12, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, for leading a march that broke a court order against the protests. On April 16, in the city jail, he wrote a long letter. It answered a statement by eight white Birmingham clergymen, printed in the Birmingham News, that criticized the protests and asked for law and order. The letter was copied and passed around, then printed as a pamphlet and in magazines from May 1963. Its main points, in our words: Black Americans had been told for years to wait, and waiting had brought no change; a law used to keep segregation in place is unjust, and refusing it can be right; peaceful marches were meant to build pressure until city leaders agreed to talk; the bigger obstacle was moderate white people who put calm ahead of justice; and what happens in one city affects people everywhere. Context: King's letter is still under copyright, so this sheet gives its ideas in our words and does not quote it.
A classmate writes "King said in his letter" using only this card. What should Luz point out?
- The card is a summary, so it shows what the letter argued, not King's exact words
- King's exact words are in the card, so the classmate is right to quote them directly
- The card should be set aside, since a summary by historians cannot report an argument fairly
- King did not write the letter, so the card is mistaken about who its author was
The Rochester speech, in brief
Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: Rochester, New York. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Sewing Society invited Frederick Douglass to speak. He agreed on one condition: that he speak on July 5, not July 4. About 500 to 600 people came to Corinthian Hall. Afterward the Society asked him for one hundred printed copies, and the speech came out as a pamphlet in 1852.
Noah reads that 500 to 600 people came to hear Douglass. What does that number leave out?
- That the hall held mostly members of the Society, since the Society ran the event
- Whether Douglass spoke on July 4 or July 5, since the count could fit either day
- How many people later read the pamphlet, so it understates how far the speech reached
- How many in the hall supported the Society, since the count is of its members
Seneca Falls, July 1848, in brief
Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: About 300 people attended the Seneca Falls convention on July 19 and 20, 1848. Elizabeth Cady Stanton drafted the Declaration of Sentiments with Mary Ann M'Clintock, and 100 of those present signed it. Source card "The Declaration of Sentiments on equality". Who made it: Elizabeth Cady Stanton with Mary Ann M'Clintock; signed by 100 women and men. When: July 1848. Where: Seneca Falls, New York. For whom: the convention and the public. Why: to list women's complaints and demand their rights. Excerpt (Declaration of Sentiments; History of Woman Suffrage, 1881, p. 70): "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable [that cannot be taken away] rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." Limits: This text was printed in 1881, 33 years after the convention, by leaders of the movement.
The Declaration of Sentiments was signed by 100 of about 300 people at the convention. What does that allow Ren to say?
- It shows what the signers endorsed, not what the other attendees or women generally thought
- It shows what the whole convention believed, since the convention met in one place
- It shows the signers were not the leaders, since most people at the convention did not sign
- It shows what most women across the country wanted for themselves in 1848
Use this
Source card "Birmingham, April and May 1963, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: On April 10, 1963, a state court ordered the Birmingham protests to stop. On April 12, a group of about 50 people led by King marched anyway and were arrested. King wrote his letter on April 16 and spent eight days in jail. The letter was printed as a pamphlet and in magazines from May 1963. On May 10, 1963, Birmingham businesses agreed to desegregate their stores. Context: King's letter is still under copyright, so this sheet gives its events in our words and does not quote the letter.
The stores agreed to desegregate on May 10, about three weeks after King wrote the letter. What can Esme conclude?
- The letter caused the agreement, since the letter came first and the stores followed
- The agreement came before the letter was written, since stores acted early
- The agreement followed the letter, but the card does not show the letter caused it
- The agreement shows that the letter's argument was accepted by the businesses that signed
The vote resolution at Seneca Falls, in brief
Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Of the resolutions at Seneca Falls, only the ninth, which urged women to secure the right to vote, was not adopted by everyone. Some who spoke feared that asking for the vote would hurt their other demands and make the movement look foolish. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass argued for it, and it passed by a small majority.
Tala reads that the ninth resolution, on the vote, passed by a small majority. What does that best show about the convention?
- Even supporters of other demands disagreed about asking for the vote
- The convention had no interest in the vote, since the resolution barely passed
- The vote resolution failed, since a small majority is not enough
- The convention agreed on the resolutions without debate, so the vote was settled
Use this
Source card "The Declaration of Sentiments makes its demand". Who made it: Elizabeth Cady Stanton with Mary Ann M'Clintock; signed by 100 women and men. When: July 1848. Where: Seneca Falls, New York. For whom: the convention and the public. Why: to list women's complaints and demand their rights. Excerpt (Declaration of Sentiments; History of Woman Suffrage, 1881, p. 71): "Now, in view of this entire disfranchisement [being kept from voting] of one-half the people of this country, ... we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of the United States." Context: History of Woman Suffrage, which prints this text, was compiled by Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Matilda Joslyn Gage and printed in 1881. Limits: The 1881 printing and the text on the National Park Service's site differ slightly in punctuation and a few words.
The strip puts the 1848 demand for the vote at Seneca Falls and the 19th Amendment in 1920. What can Ari conclude about the 72 years?
- The slow progress shows the movement stayed split over the vote, as it was at Seneca Falls
- The 13th Amendment delayed the 19th, since it came between them
- The demand was ignored for 72 years, since no one acted on it in that time
- The demand took 72 years to become an amendment; the strip does not show why